SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Benjamin Burke, 22, allegedly shocked a Santa Cruz, Calif., coin laundry customer with a stun gun, then stole the customer’s laptop computer so that he could sell it to buy drugs, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinal.Police retrieved video footage from the scene, and an officer spotted Burke later that evening. The officer felt a stun gun in Burke’s pocket, but the suspect ran, police report.The officer chased Burke onto the San Lorenzo River levee, where Burke eventually gave up, police report. By the time he was arrested, Burke had sold the laptop for cash, some of which he used to buy drugs, police say. Burke told police that he stole the computer because he is a drug addict.Burke was arrested on suspicion of robbery, evading police, and possessing methamphetamine and jailed on $50,000 bail.

About the author

Jason Hicks was assistant editor for American Trade Magazines, which publishes American Coin-Op, American Drycleaner and American Laundry News, for more than nine years, and web editor for three years.